The Lady Quill Chronicles - The Promise

The Lady Quill Chronicles - The Promise - Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Rafe stopped and looked out into the gathering darkness. It was still raining but not as hard as it had been, the water fell in a swirling mist about them. He had seen this rock mass from the tree he had climbed an hour or so ago and had decided that it was best that they head towards the possible shelter it afforded.

Now he could see that it was little more than a curve in the rock with an overhang about four feet from the ground, but Rafe was grateful for it. He dismounted making his way to Charger and the two weary figures that swayed unsteadily on his back.

“Lady Adele?”

She looked down, her tired eyes surrounded by a dark smudge of fatigue.

“We’ll camp here tonight.” His voice was gentle but as he looked back at the semi cave he felt his heart begin to sink.

This was all very well for him, it was dry enough and he had slept in worse places and in worse conditions before. But Adele should not have been subjected to such discomfort, it was not what she or Eda were used to.

“Great goodness!” Adele’s voice sounded weary but surprised, “How clever of you to have found us somewhere dry to spend the night!” Her drowsy eyes looked into his and in their depths he could see genuine admiration.

Rafe was surprised by a wish to hold her close in an appreciative bear hug. It was an impulse that shook him to the very centre of his being.

“Finn? Is something amiss?”

Rafe forced a shake  of his head.

“You should get out of the rain.”

He helped her to dismount and she moved into the shelter under the out crop of rock, Eda close behind her.

“Clever?” whispered Eda her voice incredulous, “Because you have always longed to sleep in a cave, haven’t you?”

“Eda be silent.” whispered  back Adele. “Can you not see that he is doing his best for us?”

“This is his best?”

“Enough!” for the first time Eda saw fiery sparks of anger spill from Adele’s eyes. “Did it not occur to you that he is just as tired as we are? That he is as cold and as hungry, but whereas we have him to look after us and see we are comfortable, he has no one. So please,  Eda,  please…no more tonight.”

 Rafe was dragging together some wood for the fire, it was very wet, but he had found a few dry twigs beneath the shelter that would start the flames off. There would be no room for the wood beneath the out crop, indeed once Rafe had settled himself next to Adele and Eda there was little room for anything bar the fire before them that would be shielded from the rain by the jutting rock.

Rafe dried his hands as best he could and set about coaxing a flame to the dry twigs, with great patience he fed the blaze with the damp wood. It spluttered and spat sending clouds of dark smoke spiralling upward to hit the rock above and escape into the cold air. Rafe sat back from the task, reclining against the rock next to Adele.

“Are you both alright?”

“Fine.” assured Eda, looking away.

Adele nodded but Rafe could see her trembling with cold. He leaned across taking her hand that was furthest from him in his own. Her fingers were icy and still damp.

“You’ll soon warm up again,” he told her with a reassuring smile, as he rubbed her hand between his own trying to generate the heat of friction. “Although I realize that at this point ‘tis hard to believe, or remember what being warm felt like.”